Abstract: Kingwin's XT-1264 is the first tower-style heatsink to pass through the Frostytech test labs which incorporates asymmetrical U-shaped heatpipes. In other words the heatpipes are not even, rather one length of each vertical heatpipe is 30mm shorter than the opposite.

Kingwin's
XT-1264 is the first tower-style heatsink to pass through the Frostytech test
labs which incorporates asymmetrical "U" shaped heatpipes. In other words the
heatpipes are not even, rather one length
of each vertical heatpipe is 30mm shorter than the opposite. The lop-sided ends
are alternated so that heat distribution is equal, but that still isolates 50%
of the top inch of aluminum fins from any sort of heat conduction. Whether this
is part of an innovative thermal approach or not, all is certainly not what it
seems with the Kingwin XT-1264 heatsink.

From the outside you'd be hard pressed to notice
anything particularly different. The top of the heatsink is a solid aluminum fin, so the
true nature of the one-leg-shorter-than-the-other heatpipes are obscured. And yet, while there
is less heatpipe where it's expected, the XT-1264 has
additional cooling fins where there normally isn't anything. Compensation seems to be the word
of the day as thermal performance results for the XT-1264
do keep it competitive (see page 4, 5 of this review).
Bearing that in mind, we have to wonder if Kingwin could have
just cut the height of the XT-1264 down to 130mm in the first place...

In any
case, the Kingwin XT-1264 heatsink is another in the long line of exposed
heatpipe base coolers. It stands 150mm tall, weighs a moderate 467
grams and is built around four 6mm diameter copper heatpipes. A 120mm PWM
capable of spinning at 700-2300RPM is supplied, along with mounting brackets for
Intel socket 775/1366 and AMD 939/AM2/AM3 processors. As of
this writing socket 1156 Core i5/i3 CPUs are not supported.

Heatpipe
direct touch, or exposed heatpipe base heatsinks are dead common these days
because the technique has proven so effective. Kingwin are calling it "Heatpipe
Touch Chip" but the technique is the same, the heatsink makes direct contact
with the processor.

With the Kingwin XT-1264, what stands out most
are the additional fins and peg-fins situated below the main body of the
heatsink. There are nine aluminum pegs coming out of the base of the
heatsink, each measuring ~4x4x30mm and intersecting a collection of 75x43mm
aluminum fins.

The four copper heatpipes pass through the aluminum
cooling fins as well, then upward into the 110mm tower. With the 120mm fan
mounted
as low as possible on the XT-1264, it's even possible to get a little forced
airflow over this region.

Heatsink
Installation

Kingwin's XT-1264 heatsink is compatible with Intel
socket 775/1366 and AMD socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM3 processors. The heatsink has
one common clip attached to the base which operates in a
tool free manner. The clip is designed with AMD socket
939/AM2 CPUs in mind, so for Intel processors you'll need to dig out
the screwdriver. Two sets of Intel push-to-click mounting brackets are supplied, one for
Core 2 Duo (LGA775) processors and the other for Core i7 (LGA1366)
CPUs.

Two
screws remove the AMD mounting bracket and hold the Intel
brackets in position. While a great many readers have expressed negative comments on Intel's plastic retention mechanism,
with a heatsink weighing only 467 grams these push-to-click clips are more than
adequate and very expedient to use. Kingwin also supply a small blister
pack of thermal compound and spatula for spreading it.

FrostyTech's Test Methodologies are
outlined in detail here if you care to know what equipment is
used, and the parameters under which the tests are conducted. Now let's move
forward and take a closer look at this heatsink, its acoustic characteristics,
and of course its performance in the thermal tests!